Tuesday, December 18
Murray, KY
5 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
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Murray State University
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Southern Ill.
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Murray St.
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Photo by: Will Becque
Strong third quarter propels Salukis to win over Racers
12/18/2018 | 7:39:00 | Women's Basketball
Kristen Nelson scored a career-high 24 points and Makenzie Silvey added 23 to lead the Salukis.
MURRAY, Ky. -- The Southern Illinois University women's basketball team used a strong start to the second half to defeat the Murray State Racers, 65-59, Tuesday night inside the CSFB Center.
The Salukis trailed by as many as 12 in the first half but held the Racers without a field goal for the first seven minutes of the second half. In total, Southern opened the third on a 16-0 run and held Murray State to just 3-of-13 shooting in the frame.
The pesky Racers chipped away, getting to within four late in the fourth quarter, but the Salukis finally sealed the win with a pair of Brittney Patrick free throws with less than three seconds to play. SIU shot a season-high 88.2% (11-of-12) from the charity stripe in the win.
Kristen Nelson and Makenzie Silvey did most of the heavy lifting for the Salukis. Nelson scored a career-high 24 points on 8-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-4 from behind the three-point line. Silvey, meanwhile, had 12 points in the opening half and finished with 23 points and six rebounds.
It marked the fourth-straight game in which Nelson has scored in double figures, while the 20-point game for Silvey is her third 20-plus point effort of the season.
"(Nelson) is spending a lot of extra time getting in the gym and getting shots up with coach Jody (Adams)," sixth-year head coach Cindy Stein said. "She spends a lot of time watching film with coach Jody as well. She just wants to be better and we are seeing her maturity grow as a player. Her basketball IQ continues to grow and she knows what we want and where we want her to be on the floor. Im really proud of her, she's doing a great job."
Brittney Patrick continued to pilot the offense effectively, as she finished with eight assists to just one turnover. She became first Saluki since Cartaesha Macklin in 2013 to record four-straight games with at least five assists, a stretch in which she has 29 assists to just four turnovers.
The Salukis turned up the defensive pressure in the second half and forced nine turnovers, of which six came during the third quarter. In all, Southern tied its season-high with 11 steals and both Nelson and Patrick finished with four takeaways apiece. Southern got contributions from throughout its lineup, including from reserves Celina VanHyfte, Rachel Pudlowski and Lauren Hartman. All three posted positive +/- ratings, led by a team-best +10 from Pudlowski, who had four points and a rebound in 10 minutes off the bench.
"I thought we had some really good play come off the bench and had some good substitutions that helped with our energy," Stein said. "We got some stops and then got into a better flow."
The three-game win streak is Southern's longest of the season. The Salukis will put their win streak on the line on Friday, Dec. 21 when they host the IUPUI Jaguars. Tip-off inside SIU Arena is set for 2 p.m.
The Salukis trailed by as many as 12 in the first half but held the Racers without a field goal for the first seven minutes of the second half. In total, Southern opened the third on a 16-0 run and held Murray State to just 3-of-13 shooting in the frame.
The pesky Racers chipped away, getting to within four late in the fourth quarter, but the Salukis finally sealed the win with a pair of Brittney Patrick free throws with less than three seconds to play. SIU shot a season-high 88.2% (11-of-12) from the charity stripe in the win.
Kristen Nelson and Makenzie Silvey did most of the heavy lifting for the Salukis. Nelson scored a career-high 24 points on 8-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-4 from behind the three-point line. Silvey, meanwhile, had 12 points in the opening half and finished with 23 points and six rebounds.
It marked the fourth-straight game in which Nelson has scored in double figures, while the 20-point game for Silvey is her third 20-plus point effort of the season.
"(Nelson) is spending a lot of extra time getting in the gym and getting shots up with coach Jody (Adams)," sixth-year head coach Cindy Stein said. "She spends a lot of time watching film with coach Jody as well. She just wants to be better and we are seeing her maturity grow as a player. Her basketball IQ continues to grow and she knows what we want and where we want her to be on the floor. Im really proud of her, she's doing a great job."
Brittney Patrick continued to pilot the offense effectively, as she finished with eight assists to just one turnover. She became first Saluki since Cartaesha Macklin in 2013 to record four-straight games with at least five assists, a stretch in which she has 29 assists to just four turnovers.
The Salukis turned up the defensive pressure in the second half and forced nine turnovers, of which six came during the third quarter. In all, Southern tied its season-high with 11 steals and both Nelson and Patrick finished with four takeaways apiece. Southern got contributions from throughout its lineup, including from reserves Celina VanHyfte, Rachel Pudlowski and Lauren Hartman. All three posted positive +/- ratings, led by a team-best +10 from Pudlowski, who had four points and a rebound in 10 minutes off the bench.
"I thought we had some really good play come off the bench and had some good substitutions that helped with our energy," Stein said. "We got some stops and then got into a better flow."
The three-game win streak is Southern's longest of the season. The Salukis will put their win streak on the line on Friday, Dec. 21 when they host the IUPUI Jaguars. Tip-off inside SIU Arena is set for 2 p.m.
Team Stats
F-659
F-454
FG%
.436
.404
3FG%
.438
.500
FT%
.909
.882
RB
27
33
TO
13
20
STL
11
6
Game Leaders
Pts
24
FGM
8
3FGM
4
FTM
4
Pts
23
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
4
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F/C
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F/C
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